Gatelock

ABSTRACT

A lock assembly for a gate, lock assembly comprising a catch eyebolt engageable by a pivotable locking bar carried in a bar tube of a mounting plate, the mounting plate being secured to a gate and the catch eyebolt being secured to a post.

United States Patent Inventor John H. Fouser Box 196, Carthage, Mo. 64836 Appl. No. 818,232 Filed Apr. 22, 1969 Patented Aug. 24, 1971 GATELOCK 1 Claim, 2 Drawing Figs. U.S. CL 292/78, 292/23l Int. Cl E051: 3/06, v E05c 19/00 Field of Search 292/18, 54, 78, 101,120, 136,198, 230, 231, 238, 340

Reterenes Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 453,590 6/1891 Bushnell 292/340 Ericson 292/238 McCloskey 292/238 Underwood 292/101 Klepper 292/54 Richards 292/68 Swetman 292/299 Sayles 292/340.2 Wieseler et a1. 292/213 Primary Examiner-lan A. Calvert Assistant Examiner--Robert L. Wolfe ABSTRACT: A lock assembly for a gate, lock assembly comprising a catch eyebolt engageable by a pivotable locking bar carried in a bar tube of a mounting plate, the mounting plate being secured to a gate and the catch eyebolt being secured to a post.

GATELOCK This invention relates generally to gate latches.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved gatelock which will permit the gate to be opened and closed by a quick and simple push or thrust against the gate.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improved gatelock which will accordingly not require the necessity of a person having his arms occupied by carrying an object to first relieve his hand thereof so as to manipulate a gatelock. 7

Still a further object is to provide an improved gatelock which while being readily easy to open or close, will prevent livestock from opening the gate by rubbing thereagainst.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improved gatelock which can be easily operated even by small children.

Other objects of the present invention are to provide an improved gatelock which is simple in design, inexpensive to manufacture, rugged in construction and easy to use, also efficient in operation.

These and other objects will be readily evident upon a study of the following specification together with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the mounting plate member;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of a catch member comprising a component of the present invention.

There is a mounting plate 11 of generally rectangular configuration and being provided with a plurality of mounting openings 12 for the purpose of receiving screws for securement of the mounting plate upon a gate. The mounting plate has a bar tube 13 integrally mounted thereupon, the bar tube supporting therewithin a U-shaped locking bar 14. The locking bar is comprised of a relatively short leg 15 which is parallel to a relatively longer leg 16, one end of each of the legs being integral with a crossleg l7 therebetween. Each of the ends of the legs 15 and 16 are diagonally inclined as indicated in FIG. 1 of the drawing. The intermediate leg 17 is received within the bar tube and a spacer 18 is positioned adjacent each end of the bar tube and around the intermediate leg 17 of the locking bar.

The catch eyebolt 19 comprises an eyelet member having a rectangular configurated eyelet frame 20 at one end around a central opening 21, the eyelet frame 20 being enjoined along one side thereof with an extending shank 22, the shank 22 being screw threaded as shown at 23 so as to be threadingly engaged within a post adjacent the gate.

It is to be of course understood that the woodscrew thread 23 may be substituted by a bolt thread which is engageable by a threaded nut, if so preferred.

In operative use, when the locking bar at the short leg 15 strikes the catch at the side 24 of the catch frame, the locking bar will, pass over and drop into the catch, thus securely locking the gate. In order to open the gate, the gate is simply pushed, and the locking bar will strike the catch on the side 25 of the catch frame, thus causing the locking bar to fly upwardly which thus lets the gate open before the bar can again drop downwardly. By using the natural spring tension of the gate, the present lock action is automatic and works as fast as a person may push it.

It is to be noted that the gatelock is to be installed on a gate opposite or away from a side of confinement of animals, which means that the gate must be first pulled to open the lock. If an animal or other kind of object did bump or push the gate on the lock side, the animal reflexes are much too slow so to move away from the gate before the bar 15 has returned to a locking position, as the locking action is very fast.

Thus there has been provided an improved gatelock which can be operated without the necessity of a person using his hand which is otherwise occupied, and which will prevent livestock from opening the gate when rubbing thereagainst.

What I now claim is: 1. In a gatelock, the combination of a mounting plate and a catch, the mounting plate being mounted upon a gate, said catch being mounted upon a post adjacent said gate, said mounting plate having self-contained means for engaging said catch for securing said gate in a locked position, said mounting plate including a rectangular member being provided with a plurality of openings therethrough for purpose of receiving mounting screws for securement of said plate upon said gate, said plate having a bar tube securely mounted thereupon in a fixed position, said bar tube comprising a tubular member supported pivotally free a locking bar, said locking bar comprising a generally U-shaped member having parallel, straight opposite legs which are interconnected at their one ends by an intermediate connecting leg, one of said parallel legs being relatively short while the other of said legs is relatively long, the intermediate leg being received within said bar tube, and a spacer being positioned adjacent each end of said bar tube and around said intermediate leg of said locking bar, said catch comprising an eyebolt-type member which includes an eye element at one end thereof, said eye element being of generally rectangular configuration and having parallel opposite ends and parallel opposite sides, one of said sides having an extending shank integral therewith and extending therefrom, said shank being screw threaded for securement to said post, and one of said legs of said locking bar in locking position engaging said eye element. 

1. In a gatelock, the combination of a mounting plate and a catch, the mounting plate being mounted upon a gate, said catch being mounted upon a post adjacent said gate, said mounting plate having self-contained means for engaging said catch for securing said gate in a locked position, said mounting plate including a rectangular member being provided with a plurality of openings therethrough for purpose of receiving mounting screws for securement of said plate upon said gate, said plate having a bar tube securely mounted thereupon in a fixed position, said bar tube comprising a tubular member supported pivotally free a locking bar, said locking bar comprising a generally U-shaped member having parallel, straight opposite legs which are interconnected at their one ends by an intermediate connecting leg, one of said parallel legs being relatively short while the other of said legs is relatively long, the intermediate leg being received within said bar tube, and a spacer being positioned adjacent each end of said bar tube and around said intermediate leg of said locking bar, said catch comprising an eyebolt-type member which includes an eye element at one end thereof, said eye element being of generally rectangular configuration and having parallel opposite ends and parallel opposite sides, one of said sides having an extending shank integral therewith and extending therefrom, said shank being screw threaded for securement to said post, and one of said legs of said locking bar in locking position engaging said eye element. 